Dear Delegates, Faculty, and Affiliates,

On behalf of the Executive Board and staff of Harvard Model Congress Asia, it is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to the 20th session of the Harvard Model Congress Asia conference, which will be held at the prestigious Seoul National University in Seoul, South Korea from January 8-10, 2024! My name is June Park, and I am honored to serve as the President of HMCA 2024. I am a senior at Harvard College studying Government on the Data Science Track with a language citation in Japanese. I served as the Faculty Liaison of HMCA 2023, so I hope to see both familiar and new faces at the 2024 conference.

Since 2004, HMCA has served as the premier forum for cultural and intellectual exchange in the Asia-Pacific region, bringing together thousands of students to foster a community of informed future changemakers. After a phenomenal in-person conference last year, we are excited to build upon and improve the successes of the 2023 conference to provide an even more immersive, meaningful educational experience for students. Thus, for the 2024 conference, we are excited to be co-hosting with Seoul National University to continue HMCA’s rich history of transformative education. This year’s conference will feature 15 dynamic committees, ranging from Senate Foreign Relations to United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP) 28, which will be chaired by 30 Harvard students who are excited and ready to work with delegates. Through the three day conference, we hope delegates will not only learn how to debate about and craft solutions for some of the most pertinent issues confronting Asia, the United States, and the global community, but also to take these skills back to their communities to continue the work. 

I am excited to announce new changes ahead of the conference that we believe will improve the conference experience for all. First, the Executive Board has spent the summer crafting FREE pre-conference training materials for delegates. We hope these training materials, which include information about parliamentary procedure, bill-writing, and more, will help delegates in their preparation for the conference. Second, we have streamlined the Scholarship Application process so that we can award scholarships in a more timely manner. Additionally, we will be piloting a Mentorship program to continue HMCA’s mission of accessible and inclusive education. Third, we will be emphasizing the importance of cross-cultural connections in the different programming that will occur during the conference. Fourth, we will provide opportunities to continue engaging in civic conversations and initiatives after HMCA, since civic engagement should only continue, not end, after the HMCA conference.

In light of the civic crisis that our global community faces, I hope, through the HMCA conference, delegates will learn how to address this civic crisis in their own ways and continue to confront challenges in their own communities. Once again, we emphasize that the HMCA conference should only be the beginning, not the end, of a student’s civic engagement journey. As we countdown to the start of the conference, please know that the Executive Board, Staff, and I are all looking forward to seeing you in South Korea and welcoming you to the 2024 HMCA conference! Onwards to Seoul!

If you have any questions about the registration process or the conference itself, please reach out to the Faculty Liaison, Kaitlyn Tran, at faculty@hmcasia.org. 

With immense gratitude,

June Park

President | Harvard Model Congress Asia 2024